Concerns over the care given to 10 breast cancer patients at Barringtons' private hospital in Limerick were just the "tip of the iceberg", a cancer specialist in the mid-west said last night. Eithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent, reports.
Prof Rajnish Gupta said he was concerned about the care given to other breast cancer patients at the hospital in recent years, apart from the 10 cases he had already raised.
He could not say precisely how many women whose care he was worried about, but it was certainly more than 10.
Breast cancer services at the hospital have been suspended and a review of the care given to all breast cancer patients there between September 2003 and August 2007 is to take place.
Barringtons' Hospital said it had been scheduled to do about 1,000 mammograms this year alone and therefore the number of patients whose files will be reviewed are likely to be significantly in excess of this number.
The managing director of the hospital, Denis Cahalane, told The Irish Times he could not yet put a figure on the number of cases which would be part of the review.
It emerged yesterday that on foot of Prof Gupta raising concerns last month, about 10 patients in particular, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), ordered an independent review of the files of these patients. The review was carried out by Prof Andrew Hill, professor of surgery at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, and Dr Ann O'Doherty, consultant radiologist with BreastCheck, and they too expressed concern about what they found.
Minister for Health Mary Harney said she had had read a summary of their report and it "expresses very serious concerns". She added that she had been informed "there was an immediate and ongoing risk to patients at Barringtons' Hospital".
As a result the Department of Health had asked Barringtons' to suspend its breast cancer services. It agreed to do this two weeks ago, but news of the suspension did not enter the public domain until Thursday. Ms Harney will be meeting Barringtons' Hospital representatives on Monday to discuss the matter further.
A number of patients who underwent breast screening at the private hospital in recent years contacted the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick yesterday seeking to make appointments to have their mammograms repeated.
Prof Gupta said yesterday he was concerned that in one particular case a 51-year-old patient was ischarged the day after a mastectomy at Barringtons' with a drain attached to her wound. In a specialist breast cancer unit she would be kept in hospital for a number of days after such an operation, he said.
Asked about these issues, Mr Cahalane said: "The way surgery is going across many specialties there is a massive focus on day care because it has been proven that patients recover better in their own environment and it minimises the risk of the horrendous MRSA issue."
He added that the hospital had performed surgery on 7,500 patients last year and most of this was done on a day case basis.
On the issue of Prof Gupta having concerns about the way more than 10 breast cancer cases were managed by Barringtons', he said: "That is very concerning for me. If he is claiming there is mismanagement of patients he has to act under guidelines laid down by the Medical Council. These state that he must contact the consultant in question dealing with these patients first and make his point and unless the consultant in question does not take on board what he is saying at that point he should contact the Medical Council."
Ms Harney said the concerns raised about the 10 cases had been referred by her department to the Medical Council.She also acknowledged yesterday that the newly established HIQA could not investigate standards in private hospitals.
It was of concern to her that there was not a licensing regime in Ireland for private providers of healthcare. As a result she had established a commission chaired by Dr Deirdre Madden to examine the issue and report early next year on how best to regulate the provision of health services.
In a separate development, a consultant radiologist at the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise has been placed on administrative leave after concerns were raised about the doctor's reading of mammograms.